Jan 7 Hispanic Lawmakers Lead Delegation to Border to Investigate Migrant Child’s Death

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX)will lead a congressional delegation to the border today along with Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM) to investigate a migrant child’s death in the custody of U.S. agents. The delegation is aiming to review records related to 8-year-old Felipe Alonzo-Gómez’s death which occurred on Christmas Eve. The lawmakers also plan to speak with the border patrol agents who were with him, though a meeting has not yet been scheduled. Alonzo‘s death came less than a month after a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl, Jakelin Caal Maquin, died in U.S. custody in El Paso, TX. The pro-life Trump administration claimed, without any evidence, that the children were already sick when they crossed the border. “The deaths of Felipe and Jakelin are inexcusable,” Torres Small said in a statement. “Their deaths have highlighted a new reality on the border, and DHS hasn’t adapted quick enough to the changing circumstances on the border to keep children and families, agents, and our communities safe.” The delegation will include members Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Verónica Escobar (D-CA), and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR). More here.

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